Thursday, May 2, 2019

How LISS Cardio Changed My Life


Look, this is not going to be some post about the amazing amount of fat you can burn by doing this type of training. I still haven't changed my opinion on the vast majority of cardio as it relates to fat loss. I still thinks there are things that are much more important to changing your body other than hours of slaving away on the treadmill. In fact, this post isn't really going to be about the fat loss benefits of LISS at all, but the benefits I've received in other areas of my life since I started doing it.

Although that will be the case, I still want to give you some insight into what I've been doing. Low Intensity Steady State Cardio (LISS) is a form of cardiovascular training that is extremely beneficial but is very underrated. It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like; maintaining a low heart rate for an extended period of time in an attempt to use as much body fat for fuel as possible. It's simple, it's boring, but it might be the best type of cardio to lose body fat. The other super important aspect of LISS from this perspective is to do it fasted, which is usually the easiest first things in the morning. Here is exactly what I've been doing for my fasted LISS every morning.


  • Wake up.
  • Drink a glass of water and a cup of black coffee.
  • Go to the gym and walked 30-60 minutes while keeping my heart rate between 90-110 BPM.
  • Walk at 3 mph and increase the incline to get my HR to where it needs to be. Typically I start at 5 incline and increase as needed.
  • I cycle my time by day to prevent burnout. So Monday and Thursday is 60 minutes, Tuesday and Friday is 45 minutes, and Wednesday and Saturday is 30 minutes, Sunday I take off. 
So the first question you may have from this is "Why low intensity? Doesn't higher heart rate burn more calories?". Well yes, a higher heart rate will burn more calories but we need to look at where those calories are coming from. The higher your heart rate gets, your body uses a higher percentage of carbohydrates to fuel the exercise. In lower heart rates, your body uses a greater percentage of fat. So while you're still going to use some fat for fuel at higher heart rates, the total amount you use will be less. 

The second question you may have from this is "Why fasted?". Long story short, because of the lack of insulin present increases the amount of body fat you will use for fuel because it becomes the most available fuel source. When you pair this with lower intensity exercise like walking, you maximize the potential to use stored body fat as fuel. 

Question three is usually "Can I do something other than walk?". The answer to that is yes, but you need to be careful about keeping your heart rate down in the lower range. It's pretty easy to get your heart rate too high with something like a bike or an elliptical, but it is an option you can use if walking is not a option for you. I choose to walk because I can, and because I am a human being who was literally designed to walk (also it's really helped me build up my calves).

So that's a quick rundown on what I've been doing and why I'm doing it. It's definitely not the entire story so if you do have additional questions then please let me know. Although I have lost some body fat from everything I've been doing lately (check that out here), that is not even close to the best benefit I've gotten from doing this cardio. The best benefit has been so much more important but we need to switch gears really quick to explain. 

Raise your hand if you listen to music when you do cardio. Don't lie because I know most of you do! But guess what, you're wasting some unbelievable potential by listening to music and not using that time to improve yourself. I was introduced to personal development 6 years ago about the time I started Grad School and I really haven't taken a day off of it since them. Every day I either read a book, listen to a podcast, listen to an audiobook, or watch a video about something that I want to improve on in my life. This is usually related to exercise, business, marketing, or leadership and I can never fully explain to you how much this has changed my life. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that I've learned more about exercise and nutrition AFTER I graduated Grad School than I did when I was there. That's not meant to say anything bad about my education, but just to show how much info there really is out there to learn (usually for free).

This is where LISS comes back in. That 30-60 minutes every day is 30-60 minutes of time you could be learning, improving, thinking, or building your ideas, career or business. It is impossible to explain to you how many ideas I've come up with (including this post), how much clarity I've gotten in my goals, and how motivated I've become just from the this time spent every morning. It's actually crazy how your brain just start to go. You usually latch on to a topic or sentence from what you're listening to and your brain just goes on it's own. You zone out and crazy things happen. But here's the thing, I also listen to the same programs on my 60 minutes of driving every day, but I don't get anywhere near the same number and quality of ideas that I do when I walk. There is something about listening and moment together that helps you get into a flow state where the combination of the two is more powerful than either separately. This has lead me to not only tolerate cardio every day, but actually look forward to it! I promise you that's not something that I ever thought I would say!

To finish up, I just wanted to give you a quick list of some of the podcasts (my go to lately) that I've been listening too when I walk.
  1. The MFCEO Project by Andy Frisella
  2. Empire Podcast Show with Bedros Keuilin and Craig Ballantyne
  3. Renegade Radio by Jason Ferruggia 
  4. The Mike Dolce Show
Again, these are typically more in the area of fitness, nutrition, and business but I would still recommend them to anyone, as they are all created for the every day person. You can chose to take my advice or not, because I know there still may be a weird stigma around "personal development" that can push some people away. But I promise that it won't take very long for you to understand exactly what I mean if you just decide to give it a shot.




How LISS Cardio Changed My Life

Look, this is not going to be some post about the amazing amount of fat you can burn by doing this type of training. I still haven't ch...